MIT Sloan Management Review

When bad things happen, companies need the right strategy for talking their way out of a mess and avoiding a calamitous pummeling of their corporate image. Choosing the best response can spell the difference between a brand’s survival — even enhancement — and its irreversible tarnishing. BY GITA V. JOHAR, MATTHIAS M. BIRK AND SABINE A. EINWILLER How to Save Your Brand In the Face of Crisis

IN 2009 AND 2010, Toyota Motor Corp. was the target of much adverse media attention after a
series of accidents due to sudden acceleration incidents and brake faults that led to deaths and inju-
ries. What started as a smoldering issue in 2005 with incidents of unintended acceleration and
consumer complaints about sticky accelerators culminated in massive recalls of Toyota vehicles,
totaling 8. 5 million vehicles recalled by February 2010. It turned out that Toyota knew about pos-
sible safety issues much earlier than 2009, but refrained from issuing large-scale recalls. Consumers
and media were harshly critical, and included comments such as:
“House Panel Says Toyota Misled Public on Safety” 1 and “Shame on you, Toyota.” 2

The Toyota brand’s reputation — which had been closely linked to safety and quality and was a key element in the company’s success — took a serious battering. Toyota management had a choice — to be resigned to this fate or to use effective communication strategies to recover from the crisis. Crises

THE LEADING QUESTION

How should a company best communicate with the public during a marketing crisis to protect its brand from damage?

FINDINGS

If the brand is at fault and the crisis is severe, come clean quickly.

If the brand is not
at fault but the
crisis is severe,
defend yourself.
If the accusation
against the brand
is not true and not
severe, denial is a
useful strategy.
In normal, noncrisis
times, work to
bolster your image
and enhance
consumers’ brand
identification.